In this article we’ll be talking about anabolic steroids and how they affect a man from a bodybuilding perspective.

Shortly we’ll reveal the 7 best steroids for men and how they can turn you from a skinny rake into a BEAST. If you want a barrel chest, shirt busting arms and roadmap vascularity – these AAS will do just that.

In this current day and age anabolic steroids are gaining more and more popularity.

Over the years they’ve progressively gone from being used ONLY by athletes and competitive bodybuilders, to now being used by everyday people.

Many doctors, dentists, lawyers, amateur athletes, bouncers, teachers and average Joe’s in the gym are on gear today.

It’s been reported by The Guardian that over 1,000,000 people in the UK use performance enhancing drugs, in a bid to improve their looks (not for sporting benefit).

You’ve got the younger generation taking steroids because it enhances the way you look (bigger muscles, more defined abs); then you’ve got the older generation using TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) to offset the ageing process, increase libido and maintain a younger, healthier looking body.

Why Do Men Use Steroids?

One of the reasons men use steroids is for health purposes; for example a doctor can prescribe steroids to patients with muscle wasting diseases. Or an older guy might start taking testosterone to bring his libido back.

But, the main reason guys take steroids is because they can turn an average-sized beta male, into a JACKED alpha male.

Steroids have proven to help men build 3x more muscle – compared to training naturally.

When combined with a structured weight training program and a good diet, steroids can take your physique to the next level.

What happens you take steroids correctly:

Build a significant amount of muscle mass

Considerable increase in strength

Train harder and for longer

Improved recovery

Decreased body fat

How Much Muscle Will You Gain?

This all depends on the dose and what steroids you use/stack together, but if you take moderate doses and perform regular workouts; you will gain A LOT of muscle.

Men who were experienced weight lifters took 600mg of testosterone per week for 10 weeks. On average they gained 13.5lbs of lean muscle mass.

Considering a pro bodybuilder can take 1000mg-3000mg of testosterone per week – these are huge gains for such a mild dose.

It’s also worth mentioning that this was JUST from taking testosterone; thus if you stacked test with other powerful bulking steroids, you’d gain even more muscle.

7 Best Steroids for Men

Dianabol

Dianabol also known as ‘Dbol’ was designed in 1958 to help athletes gain a physical advantage in sport; helping them to become more powerful. In the 1970s it was rumored to be taken by the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane, Mike Katz – the golden era of bodybuilding. Guys back then used to wear fanny packs and would casually unzip and take whatever steroid they wanted throughout the day to give them a boost. However, Arnold and co were taking a lot lower dosages compared to the Pro’s today.

Dianabol is one of the most popular anabolic steroids on the market and is typically very easy to buy. Despite it being illegal, you can purchase it online or you can can purchase it through a friend on the black market. Lots of guys (especially in hardcore bodybuilding gyms) will be familiar with the drug and know someone that sells it.

The reason why so many guys take dianabol is because it’s one of the best steroids for building muscle. Strength gains will also increase, making it popular among powerlifters too.

Testosterone is an effective steroid to take if you want to build mass. Dianabol has double the anabolic rating (200) of testosterone (100) which puts into perspective how powerful this drug is for building muscle.

In terms of dosages they’ll differ from person to person; depending on your goals, experience and age of the user. A professional bodybuilder may take 50mg of dianabol per day (with some even taking 100mg), but beginners are advised to take far less. For example, newbies can start out on 10mg per day and slowly increase their dose throughout the cycle.

Two things to watch out for when taking D-Bol is water retention and gynecomastia (man boobs). To prevent these side effects, men often take anti-estrogen supplements which will reduce the chances of you forming female breast tissue; and minimize fluid retention. However, anti estrogens may further spike your blood pressure (as they’ll contribute to higher testosterone levels)

Dianabol can either be taken orally in tablet form or injected. Injections mean the active steroid will enter the bloodstream quicker, however lots of people prefer tablets; as less knowledge is needed and they’re more convenient. If you decide to take tablets make sure to look after your liver by limiting alcohol consumption or/and taking liver support supplements.

Trenbolone

Trenbolone aka ‘tren’ was created in 1963 and was given to cattle in the 1970s to improve muscle mass and feed efficiency.

Although trenbolone was initially created to bulk up livestock, due to its powerful anabolic nature it unsurprisingly became popular with athletes, bodybuilders and your average gym rat who wants to get jacked.

Tren is an extremely powerful substance, in fact it’s 5x stronger than testosterone. Experienced users have reported gaining up to 10lbs from a trenbolone cycle; which is pretty amazing considering most people who take trenbolone have already taken steroids before (and are experienced users), so their potential for muscle gains is reduced.

Benefits of Trenbolone include:

Increase in strength

Added muscle size

Fat loss

Improved endurance

Dosages tend to vary from 50mg-100mg every other day depending on the person who’s taking it. Again it’s advised that beginners do not take trenbolone, but if they do, they should start on very low dosages.

Testosterone

Testosterone is a natural hormone found in the body which plays a key role in the synthesis of muscle tissue and muscular strength. Although men have a natural amount of testosterone in their blood stream, many guys take additional testosterone to build even more muscle, as well as improving athletic performance and strength levels.

Testosterone also increases the number of fat burning beta-adrenergic receptors – making it ideal for those looking to shed fat and achieve a lean physique.

Lots of studies have proven how effective testosterone can be in relation to improving body composition i.e. increasing muscle mass and losing body fat.

For example, a group of men aged between 21-37 had 200mg of testosterone injected each week for 6 months. These men didn’t do any specific exercises over the 6 month period, but the results revealed that their testosterone levels increased by 91%, lean mass increased by 9.6% and body fat reduced by 16.2%.

So, if you weighed 80kg in this study and you had 15% body fat, you would’ve lost almost 2kg of fat and gained 6.8kg of muscle from taking very small doses of testosterone for 6 months.

Thus, when a user takes a good dose of additional testosterone (1000-3000mg per week) and combines this with a good weight training routine and structured meal plan – the results can be phenomenal.

Anadrol

Anadrol, otherwise known as oxymetholone or anadrol 50, is one of the fastest acting steroids on the market. In clinical studies users have gained over 14% of their body weight from using anadrol.

During this study HIV patients used anadrol 50 and gained 24lbs after 8 months (using very mild doses). Now you can start to understand how powerful anadrol is for bulking up; if the user is a normal person (without a muscle-wasting disease) and they take higher doses.

Anadrol is one of the most reliable steroids for gaining muscle, with lots of bodybuilders, mens physique athletes and even powerlifters taking it; helping them pack on large amounts of muscle and strength during the offseason.

Due to anadrol’s chemical structure, with it being comprised of short esters, it’s common for users to experience very fast and impressive gains (in the beginning stages of a cycle).

Unlike testosterone which is often injected either once or twice per week, Anadrol has a short half life (the exact value is unknown), thus it’s taken daily. Cycles will typically last anywhere between a 4-6 week period and users on a bulking cycle will take somewhere between 50/100mg per day.

Deca Durabolin

Deca Durabolin also known as ‘Deca’, or chemically known as nandrolone, was initially developed to treat osteoporosis in menopausal women.

Deca is a powerful anabolic steroid that increase nitrogen retention, which is essential for protein synthesis. This is where your body becomes more efficient at building and repairing damaged muscle tissue. This benefit allows users to train harder, for longer, and more frequently.

One of Deca Durabolin’s unique benefits is that it’s great for joint health. People who take Deca report having smoother and better feeling joints. For example, some users say they’re mobility is improved on exercises like the back squat and dips, and they also feel ‘less beaten up’ during or/and after a heavy workout.

Like all anabolic steroids you need to treat Deca with the respect it deserves, it’s extremely potent and can cause side effects in the body such as: liver problems, enlarged prostate, gyno, acne and thickening of the skin.

Deca durabolin contains long esters, in comparison to anadrol, thus it’s more slow-acting. However, it still remains as one of the best steroids for building muscle tissue. Bodybuilders typically take dosages of 300-600mg per week, with the dose depending on your experience and tolerance to the drug.

Anavar

Anavar, or oxandrolone, was developed in the 1960’s to help muscle-wasting patients build muscle, however it became popular in the athletic and bodybuilding world because it proved to be a great steroid for burning fat and building/maintaining muscle mass.

It’s also considered a ‘milder steroid’ and thus side effects are usually minimal in comparison to other AAS. Therefore it’s a popular steroid for many beginners who are new to performance enhancing drugs and don’t want to experience severe side effects.

One of the unique benefits of anavar is it’s effect on vascularity (making your veins become more visible on the surface of your skin).

The reason anavar makes your veins prominent is because it reduces your body fat and water retention in the body. Decreasing both of these elements mean your veins will be situated closer to the surface of your skin.

Anavar is particularly popular among people looking to achieve a lean and aesthetic-looking body. Whether that’s to impress a girl, to win a bodybuilding show or just for the sake of looking ripped.

Anavar won’t only help in reducing body fat, but it’ll also help you maintain muscle during a cutting phase.

One of the things almost every lifter suffers from when dieting is muscle loss (to some degree). This can often result in the dieter ending up looking shredded, but at the cost of their hard-earned muscle.

When taking a performance enhancer like anavar it’ll keep your body in an anabolic state, reducing your chances of muscle loss. Consequently you’ll end up with a denser, leaner looking physique.

Winstrol

Winstrol (street name ‘winnny’), also known as Stanozolol, is a steroid that was developed in the 1950s. It’s received lots of media attention over the years, particularly in athletics, where numerous athletes have been caught taking this banned substance. For example Maria Sharapova (2016) and Ben Johnson (1988) who was stripped of his gold medal for testing positive for stanozolol.

It’s hugely popular in bodybuilding too and is regarded as one of the best steroids for burning fat and getting ripped.

However, winstrol isn’t just used by those looking to lose weight. It’s also great for anybody wanting to build lean muscle tissue, as it helps increase protein synthesis.

One of winstrol’s main benefits is lowering the level of the sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), which is beneficial because it means increased testosterone levels and users becoming more anabolic i.e. a superior muscle-building state.

A winstrol cycle usually lasts for 6-8 weeks. If you take it in pill form then a 40-80mg dose is recommended each day. If however injections are preferred then doses are typically between 50-100mg and this will stay in your system for up to 48 hours.

Do Steroids Affect You Sexually?

The answer to this is- YES.

Anabolic steroids certainly alter your sex drive, which can be either positively or negatively; depending at what stage it is of your cycle. Both sides of the equation are commonly experienced by users.

When a user initially takes steroids their sex drive will increase. The higher the dose, the higher the sex drive.

The downside may come later on, for example when you’ve finished a cycle. Your sexual health may decline, because your bodies natural testosterone has shut down by this point.

When you add synthetic testosterone i.e. by taking performance enhancing drugs your body slows down it’s own production of testosterone, because it doesn’t need to produce it anymore. In worse case scenarios this may cause users to have to continually take a testosterone supplement for the rest of their life (not good).

Sexual health and libido can be very high when you’re on the drugs, but when you come of your body often experiences a rebound effect, which can lead to erectile dysfunction or lack of sexual desire.

In regards to how likely steroids will affect you depends on how much you take, how long you take it for, how you cycle on/off, and how many years you’ve been taking steroids for. There are lots of variables and that’s why it’s super important to make an educated decision before taking such powerful hormone-altering compounds.

Are Steroids Legal?

No, anabolic steroids are a controlled substance and thus are illegal.

In order to get hold of steroids you have to get them from a doctor. Unfortunately, your doctor will not prescribe them to you just because you want to pack on some muscle and look good on the beach. That’s unless he/she is a dodgy doctor, who’s prepared to lose their career to help you get swole.

If you are caught selling steroids you may face up to 14 years in prison as they are a Class C drug.

How Do Men Get Steroids?

There are really only three ways to get hold of steroids:

Doctor – mentioned earlier, you can obtain them through your doctor but ONLY for health reasons.

Online – For example, if you type in ‘buy dianabol’ online you’ll get a bunch of webpages you can buy from. The trouble with buying online is that you don’t always know what you’re getting. The pills you buy could be placebos, contain less or more of the steroid, and in worst case scenarios – the swapped active ingredient could be life threatening. Thus it’s important for men to do their research before trusting random illegal retailers on the internet.

People you know – The chances are if you’re reading this post you’ll be into your training and will know of bodybuilders on the juice (down your gym). It’s in these bodybuilding gyms where you’ll likely find a seller if you ask around (discreetly).

Why Men Are Using Legal Steroids in 2018

So if steroids are illegal, what are ‘legal steroids for men?’

Legal steroids are made up of natural ingredients and aim to reproduce the effects of illegal steroids; however they’re FDA approved and don’t come with the negative side effects or stigma. For example, most people wouldn’t openly discuss their steroid consumption, unless they feel comfortable with the person they’re with, as it’s still largely frowned upon by society (albeit less so than before).

The benefits of taking legal steroids include:

They contain testosterone and protein synthesis-boosting ingredients

They contain ingredients to boost your metabolism (and burn fat)

Enhance training performance

Improved recovery

They’re affordable

They’re safe (no side effects)

Some men are having great results from using legal steroids, which you can see below (screenshot taken from social media).

Crazy Bulk is the leading retailer of legal steroids for men, offering a wide array of steroid alternatives, with names similar to real AAS.

For almost every anabolic steroid available today, they have a legal alternative:

Instead of Dianabol they have D-bal

Trenbolone – Trenorol

Testosterone – Testo-max

Anadrol – Anadrole

Anavar – Anvarol

Winstrol – Winsol

If you’re serious about getting results and want to up your game then I recommend you try legal steroids, as they won’t cause the harmful side effects of anabolic steroids.

Thanks for reading, hopefully now you have a better understanding in regards to the best steroids for men, and how they affect the body (for better and for worse).